On a nice partly cloudy day like the last few, rent/borrow/own a bike and ride to the west entrance of HaiGeng Park via DianChi and GuanJing roads. There is a wonderfully quiet and pretty back road that parallels DianChi if you're up for exploring it out. Go on a weekday and you can even sneak a ride on top of the tourist walkway on GuanJing for some pretty scenery. Once at the park, pay a 10rmb entrance fee and then go have lunch/snacks inside the park. Better yet, is to go as a group and rent a bbq slot or picnic on the grass. The water will most likely be smelly green now, but when it's not, HaiGeng is even nicer. You can ride out of the east exit and explore the nearby sports complex and then make you're way home on XingTi Rd.
The weather and ability to see blue skies is a big reason so many foreigners reside in a tier 2 city of this size. So I like to take advantage of the climate by taking in the pleasant parts of Kunming.
Pulling teeth is much easier, less painful, and possibly less bloody than trying to get cash back from a Chinese merchant.
Try for the 2nd repair. Albeit, they will try to charge you another 200 to 300 rmb for yet another screen/visualizer part. Here you will have to be very demanding and willing to make a scene. Bringing a friend(s) along wouldn't hurt.
If you went to the shop the next day after your faulty repair, you should have a good chance at obtaining a 2nd repair for free. If the problem didn't fully manifest itself till several days later or you waited to complain, then this is much more problematic. Essentially, this now becomes a tug-of-war between how willing you are to make a scene and the Chinese shop owner's obstinacy.
In Shenzhen, the repair shop I frequent for my iPhone would most likely take a 2nd look at it for free. They would repair it without charging me for another expensive part if I start and continue to badger/scream at them they used a crap/wrong part to start with. However, I speak fluent Chinese and have used this shop more than once.
As a practice, I wouldn't have my smartphone or Apple products repaired in Kunming except at an authorized repair shop or the big chains mentioned above. Of course those places all charge considerably more.
Any hotel in Kunming probably can, but as you venture out to the smaller cities of China, you will find that many hotels are not setup to register foreign guests. When you get very rural, it's actually easier to find lodging as many places then don't bother with registration. The rule is still on the books, but most big city hotels can comply now and most small village ones don't bother. It's 3rd tier non-tourist towns where you tend to encounter this issue.
Wow, only 13 businesses lost and zero death toll. That's the best bad news possible out of a fire in old town. It could of easily been 130 businesses and worst. The might of the Chinese populace. 1000 for the bucket brigade.
Never gotten sick once at Sals. Their food is TexMex, so yeah, not authentic Mexican food, but pretty authentic as TexMex goes. Burrito wrap has improved a lot. Like the draft beer option now.
If you haven't had dairy products in a while, and do eat here, best forgo the sour cream. Nothing wrong with it, in fact it's the best sour cream in Kunming, but if you've eaten Chinese for month or months with no dairy intake, your system will react to sour cream or probably any liquid dairy product not so well. Maybe that's what happened with nailer and tallamerican.
It's now 5 working days for regular processing. So I submitted my application a bit before 5pm on a Friday and was told to pick it up next week Friday after 5pm.
Cost is now 400rmb for a single 30 day entry. Or that was what I was charged anyways. There are no posted prices and its cash only with no receipt except for your passport pickup. That's like $65 USD.
You can pay another 150rmb for 2 day or 100rmb for 3 day processing. For 400rmb, they should process it in three days like they used to before, but now you'd pay 500rmb. The office is still like deserted most of the time, so why does it take longer now and cost extra. If you opted for 2 day, thats like $90 usd. All other neighboring countries charge like $25usd.
The rest of and cope review is still good for hours and location.
Getting Away: Cycling around Dianchi
发布者Any hotel in Kunming probably can, but as you venture out to the smaller cities of China, you will find that many hotels are not setup to register foreign guests. When you get very rural, it's actually easier to find lodging as many places then don't bother with registration. The rule is still on the books, but most big city hotels can comply now and most small village ones don't bother. It's 3rd tier non-tourist towns where you tend to encounter this issue.
Getting Away: Cycling around Dianchi
发布者After Haikou, the ride sounds ugly. I've found nice side roads through the villages up till Haikou.
An end to hand, foot and mouth disease?
发布者I like vaccines. Wish we had one for dengue and malaria. But kudos for Yunnan coming up with one HFMD.
Lijiang blaze destroys old town businesses
发布者Wow, only 13 businesses lost and zero death toll. That's the best bad news possible out of a fire in old town. It could of easily been 130 businesses and worst. The might of the Chinese populace. 1000 for the bucket brigade.
Getting Away: Songming's Crystal Palace
发布者The caves look very unspoiled for a tourist attraction. Worth a look.